Wednesday, 5 February 2014

The Great Wall

The
Drake continued to be calm, beautiful clear skies soon changes to fog as we
approached the South Shetland Islands. Preparations for landing continued with
the fitting of our muck boots and the mandatory IAATO briefings.

We
first sighted land as we went through Nelson Strait and turned to the East
towards King George Island, where we made our first landing of this trip at the
Chinese Station Great Wall. One of our passengers has overwintered at Great
Wall and was the first to land with the Expedition Team. His arrival to the
station was warmly welcomed by his former colleagues. We all very much enjoyed
seeing the reality of life in Great Wall Station after having seen and heard
much about it at home. The cool wind and overcast skies did not dampen our
spirits, and specially this, our first landing in Antarctica.

After
finishing the landing the Captain turned Fram towards the south and we headed
across the Bransfield Strait in preparation for our landings tomorrow. After
diner the Expedition Team and Crew modeled the latest garments from the MV Fram
shop in the (in)famous fashion show.

MV FRAM is the most modern expedition cruise vessel belonging to the Hurtigrutenfleet, roaming polar waters and taking people to remote places where only few go. In order to give you the chance to travel with us, even if only on your computer screen, we have created this blog. Here you can see what we have seen and read what we have done.

MV FRAM's voyage is followed by

About

The expedition team consists of lecturers and guides from various fields and backgrounds such as ornithology, mammalogy, history, and geology, ready to tackle all your questions. Together with the fabulous Fram officers and crew we make your time on board REALLY worthwhile!